JohnRtl
New member
My new to me RT Limited arrived on Friday, looking pristine with 8000 miles on the clock.
I know that getting used to steering behaviour is going to be ‘interesting’ - I rode motorbikes with sidecars fitted for 6 years, and went through a similar process of learning how to go round corners. In the last 25 years I have ridden about 225K miles on ST1100 and ST1300s
I’ve had two short 16 mile rides on the RTL - same roads both times and am making some progress. But it is slow progress. Some observations:
I’m in the UK, we drive on the left - I’ll try to use the terms ‘offside’ and ‘nearside’ to explain. Our roads have a ‘camber’ - ie. they are higher in the middle than they are at the sides, to aid drainage.
I am finding that I am ‘spooked’ by the left hand, nearside wheel being raised by undulations in the road and by roads which do not have the normal camber. I can shift my position in the saddle, effectively leaning myself to the left/nearside to make me feel more confident.
When a similar thing happens on the offside/right hand side it is much less of a worry. I’ve got used to the fact that the camber has an effect on the steering.
These behaviours are consistent with 40 year old memories of riding with a sidecar - on left hand/nearside bends/turning towards the chair, it was more sensitive in that the chair would lift off the ground. The Spyder shouldn’t be different depending which way I turn. I’m thinking maybe 40 year old muscle memory?
Getting rid of the reflex counter steer action to correct my position will be slow progress, but I caught myself reacting instinctively yesterday - about to push on the left bar to correct a slight drift to the right (offside) when taking a left hand bend and corrected myself before I pushed on the wrong bar. I am very wary of taking sharp left hand /nearside turns, yet once in them, I can turn more tightly and apply more power and more steering to get round. Ditto roundabouts - offside/right hand side/clockwise turning - I am entering slowly and pick up speed while maintaining the same steering input.
On the way back yesterday, there was mist, and the road was damp - on accelerating gently up hill (I never got above 45mph for the whole trip) the rear end seemed to wander and I was automatically correcting with the steering - rapid right/left/right/left to keep the Spyder going straight ahead. Of course, I eased off the throttle, and assumed that it was wheel spin.
I am assuming that I am just getting used to the Spyder. I know that it took me a couple of weeks to get used to having a sidecar. But my being more nervous about left/nearside turns than right/offside turns is odd.
Comment welcome, especially from people who can remember their first few rides with a Spyder.
I know that getting used to steering behaviour is going to be ‘interesting’ - I rode motorbikes with sidecars fitted for 6 years, and went through a similar process of learning how to go round corners. In the last 25 years I have ridden about 225K miles on ST1100 and ST1300s
I’ve had two short 16 mile rides on the RTL - same roads both times and am making some progress. But it is slow progress. Some observations:
I’m in the UK, we drive on the left - I’ll try to use the terms ‘offside’ and ‘nearside’ to explain. Our roads have a ‘camber’ - ie. they are higher in the middle than they are at the sides, to aid drainage.
I am finding that I am ‘spooked’ by the left hand, nearside wheel being raised by undulations in the road and by roads which do not have the normal camber. I can shift my position in the saddle, effectively leaning myself to the left/nearside to make me feel more confident.
When a similar thing happens on the offside/right hand side it is much less of a worry. I’ve got used to the fact that the camber has an effect on the steering.
These behaviours are consistent with 40 year old memories of riding with a sidecar - on left hand/nearside bends/turning towards the chair, it was more sensitive in that the chair would lift off the ground. The Spyder shouldn’t be different depending which way I turn. I’m thinking maybe 40 year old muscle memory?
Getting rid of the reflex counter steer action to correct my position will be slow progress, but I caught myself reacting instinctively yesterday - about to push on the left bar to correct a slight drift to the right (offside) when taking a left hand bend and corrected myself before I pushed on the wrong bar. I am very wary of taking sharp left hand /nearside turns, yet once in them, I can turn more tightly and apply more power and more steering to get round. Ditto roundabouts - offside/right hand side/clockwise turning - I am entering slowly and pick up speed while maintaining the same steering input.
On the way back yesterday, there was mist, and the road was damp - on accelerating gently up hill (I never got above 45mph for the whole trip) the rear end seemed to wander and I was automatically correcting with the steering - rapid right/left/right/left to keep the Spyder going straight ahead. Of course, I eased off the throttle, and assumed that it was wheel spin.
I am assuming that I am just getting used to the Spyder. I know that it took me a couple of weeks to get used to having a sidecar. But my being more nervous about left/nearside turns than right/offside turns is odd.
Comment welcome, especially from people who can remember their first few rides with a Spyder.
. 
